Iris
by Feminine Wiles
Summary: He just wants to forget and she just wants someone to trust her. Short little oneshot that takes place between X-Factor #70 and X-men #1.


I was listening to the song Iris by Goo Goo Dolls and this popped into my head. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! All characters depicted belong to Marvel. The Song Iris belongs to the Goo Goo Dolls.

Iris

A dreary gloom seemed to have settled itself over the grounds and estate of the secret mutant mansion in Westchester, New York. The rain came down in curtains and the wind howled through the trees, causing strange noises to echo into the night. The resident weather goddess not seeing fit to clear the dark clouds that hung low in the sky at such a late hour.

That was where Remy had found her, on the roof of the huge house that held so many others within its walls. He had felt her up there, had been drawn to her when he had found himself unable to sleep, staring out his window at the falling rain, trying to forget everything he had done. He had found a new life at that place, had been given a second chance at being something better, but still his past haunted him; coming to him as he slept, in the form of strange dreams and nightmares. So, as he stepped out onto his small balcony, it came as a surprise when he had felt that same essence coming from above, the strange sadness of someone trying to forget as much as he was, and he was drawn to it, wanting so badly to distract himself from his own thoughts.

Remy made his way to the roof, and, mounting the final steps to the small observational tower, he saw her. She sat cross-legged in the middle of the stormy weather that had soaked through her clothing and made her hair slick and stick to her face. She stared off into the distance as if in thought, unaware of his sudden presence in the sheltered area of the roof. A bolt of lightening lit up the sky, the light from it causing her strange white streak of hair to shine suddenly in the darkness, catching his eye.

Remy knew her, knew that her name was Rogue, though if she had a formal name, he did not know it yet. He hadn't had much of a chance to speak with her in the short time they had been back from the craziness on Muir Island; he hadn't even been formally introduced to her as of yet. She had locked herself in her room after being accused of switching sides when she had been discovered at the side of the X-men's greatest foe, Magneto, finally found after months of being thought dead when she had disappeared in attempt to save her teammates lives. From what Remy could gather it was purely innocent, the young Rogue having no other choice then to put her life in her enemy's hands. He knew how that felt, knew the pain of such a debt. He also knew that, not unlike himself, she had a shady past, and he wondered how she was able to be so forthcoming with her wrong doings, as he was afraid of being judged in such a way, feeling that if he were to reveal his past crimes he would be judged by those actions and those actions alone. She was stronger than he was, that he knew.

Not wanting to disturb her, but not wanting to leave her either, Remy leaned silently against one of the beams that supported the small tower and lit up a smoke he had pulled from his pocket. He was curious about her; she seemed so strong, yet so sad and innocent, as if she had never been touched before. He studied her as he took long drags from his cigarette, blowing soft smoke into the cold rain. She didn't move for the longest time, her rain soaked clothing clinging to her body in an alluring way and her two toned hair whipping about her face. She showed no signs of the emotions that she might have been feeling at that moment, but he could feel it, the tormented struggle that seemed to rage within her. Perhaps it was because it seemed to mirror his own struggle inside his soul; his guilt and shame for the things he regretted in his life coming so close to the surface that night. Perhaps he was imagining it.

As Remy took the final drag of his smoke, the woman who sat before him finally moved, lifting her angelic face towards the sky. As the rain kissed her soft skin, her features still set as if in stone, she looked towards him, her eyes catching his. He had expected her to turn away, break contact with him, but she held his gaze out of the corner of her eye, and suddenly he felt he needed to be beside her; that she needed, at the very least, someone to comfort her and tell her it would be okay, whatever 'it' was.

Remy flicked his cigarette butt into the wind and hopped the low railing of the small tower, carefully making his way to her. She did not smile to welcome him, nor did she open her full lips to tell him to leave. Instead she closed her eyes, her face still pointed up to the night's stormy sky. When she opened them again he stood behind her and she caught his strange red eyes once more. Recognition seemed to flash in her gaze as she looked at him, but before he could say anything, a strange smile crossed her lips and she spoke, her voice filling his ears with a lazy southern drawl that reminded him of home.

_Ya'll are Remy LeBeau, aren't ya? Ah do believe Ah remember ya._

_Oh? An' where would an ange like yo'self have met Remy, petite?_

Her smile had quickly faded and her features returned to stone. She shrugged her shoulders and lowered her head to stare back out at the grounds of the huge estate once more as she answered.

_Ah remember a lot of people swamp rat, don't mean Ah've ever met any of them._

Remy only raised his eyebrow at her cryptic answer. He laid his hand upon her soaked shoulder in a sad attempt at comfort, glad that his powers seemed to keep him warm in the cold rain.

_Aren't ya getting' cold, petite?_

_Ah don't feel the cold like everyone else._

Remy got the feeling she was talking about more then just the temperature.

_Why you out here?_

She only shrugged, pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging them to her as she rested her chin on her knees.

_Ah'm sick of havin' ta prove mahself over an' over, only ta have mah mistakes thrown back in mah face._

Remy squeezed her shoulder gently, unsure if she could actually feel it in the numbing rain.

_Not like Ah'm gonna forget mah mistakes. They're always gonna hurt. Ah didn't mean ta hurt her that bad. Didn't kill her, but might as well have…_

She sighed, suddenly realizing she was pouring her heart out to a complete stranger.

_What about ya? Why are ya'll up here?_

Remy pulled out another cigarette and lit it quickly, before it could get soaked. Inhaling, he stared out across the grounds. He answered quietly as he exhaled.

_De past, she ain't gonna get any easier ta forget, is she petite?_

Rogue never answered, and the two of them stayed that way for some time; staring off into the distance as they each contemplated their own past sins in silence, taking a strange comfort in each other's presence and quiet understanding, never once thinking that, perhaps, their common pasts would be the start of a common future...together.


End file.
